All parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and friends are "homeschooling" children all the time whether they are aware of it or not!
The most important life lessons, including love of academic learning, come from the home, not the school.

MONTESSORI HOMESCHOOLING QUESTIONS

Q. Who or What is "Montessori"A. Maria Montessori, MD
was the first woman to receive an MD degree in Italy. She has inspired
people around the world, for over 100 years, basing education on observation
of children to discover their needs, rather than on a curriculum.
She discovered that long periods of concentration on purposeful work involving both the mind and the body (real work, not TV or computers) heals the child mentally and physically. For more information on Dr. Montessori see: Montessori

Q. What is "Montessori Method"
of education?A.The Montessori method
of education is best described as an "Aid to Life" rather than
a specific method of passing on academic objectives. It prepares students to succeed in a world where technology is changing the way we live at a very rapid pace, and general life skills are far more valuable than mastery of an outdated academic curriculum. For some answers to Frequently
Asked Questions on this subject, that may help in establishing a Montessori-type
learning environment in the home, see: FAQ

ALL AGES

Q. Should I buy Montessori Materials?A. Here is an explanation of the main areas of materials in a Montessori class, from age 1 through high school. And advice on what is appropriate for homeschooling.

SENSORIAL MATERIALS: The "didactic" or Montessori materials first used over 100 years ago in the original casa dei bambini are today called the sensorial materials. They help a child isolate a concept received through the senses, such as color, temperature, taste, size, weight, sound, and so forth. These materials are made to last many years and to be handled daily by many children so they are very expensive. In a home it is better to help children become aware of their senses and the corresponding concepts casually in daily life experiences and then give correct vocabulary such as "hot," "cold," "warm," "tepid," and all of the detailed sensorial labels.

PRACTICAL LIFE MATERIALS: These are child-size, real tools, that reflect the work that is done in the child's own unique home and community—bathing, sweeping, setting a table, arranging flowers, woodwork, everything done in a home. They allow the child to imitate the activities of those around them. they are considered by many to be the most important materials because their use fosters a good self-image, long periods of concentration, logical thinking, good physical balance and coordination, eye-hand control, problem solving, love of work, the ability to contribute to the family, independence in caring for oneself and others and the environment, and developing good manners. In fact, all of the skills needed for academic success later, and happiness as an adult. We do not recommend buying generic practical life sets, but rather creating activities with materials found in one's own family, country, or area, materials that reflect the values and work of a child's unique environment.
Ideas for the kinds of things to look for can be found here: tools for children

ACADEMIC SUBJECT MATERIALS: When a child has a good foundation in awareness of senses, and some mastery of practical life work, he will be able to more easily focus on mastering areas of academic studies such as reading, writing, math, geometry, physical and life sciences, history and geography, and the arts. In Montessori classes the child is inspired by seeing others working in all areas in the classroom at one time, and he or she is offered individual lessons in all areas by the teacher, and then the child's choice is respected about what to study. In the home it is important for the child to see adults modeling a love of learning and work, reading non-fiction and good fiction, being curious, handwriting, loving their own learning. The home should have materials and books in all subjects according to the age of the child or children and they should be offered in an attitude of fun. Again, the best source of these items that we know of in the USA is: Montessori materials

Q. What about socialization?A. The word socialization, contrary to the
opinion of some, does not mean spending the weekdays competing with 15-35
human beings one's own age. In a natural community children spend
their daily lives with old people, babies, and everyone in between. They
do not compete, but learn to search out the needs of others and to help
them live and learn. This mixed age group and habit of teaching
and helping others, and being helped and taught by people younger
or older than oneself, is a part of Montessori classes at all ages and
is easy to fit into the Montessori homeschooling plan. Don't worry about finding a group of children the same age as your child. This limitation came about when traditional schools were begun as a factory model of education, the most efficient way, or so it was thought. Natural socialization occurs when children spend their lives interacting daily with people of all ages. In Montessori schools the wider the age range the more successful the socialization and the learning, the more independent research and excitement, the more student-to-student learning, the less teacher-dictated schedules and assignments, and boring group learning. My best classes when I was a Montessori teachers were composed of children from 2-6+ years, and from 6-12 or 13 years.

AGE 0-3:

Q. At what age does homeschooling start?A. At first we were very surprised to get letters from parents of children of one or two years of age who were asking for advice on homeschooling. Then we realized that this was the very best time to start using Montessori ideas in the home.

Q. Can I use Montessori ideas at home with
my child?A. Yes, you can
use Montessori principles of child development and education at home.
Look at your home through your child's eyes. Children need a sense of
belonging and of being needed. They get it by participating fully
in the routines of everyday life. "Help me do it by myself" is the life
theme of the preschooler. Can you find ways for your child to participate
in meal preparation, cleaning, gardening, caring for clothes, shoes, and
toys? Providing opportunities for independence is the surest way to build
your child's self-esteem. In Montessori 3-6 classes around the world it is this practical life element that builds habits of thinking logically, making intelligent decisions, following complex steps of complex processes, care in actions, and so forth, that prepare for a life of independent thinking and responsible action, and care for self, others, and the world. It is often the major area of work in the whole first year of the child's experience in a Montessori class. The Montessori 3-6 environment is filled
with cultural, artistic, scientific activities and materials and books. There is no junk
food, no television, no computer. Books, toys, and other educational
materials are carefully chosen and of the best quality. The
child is never forced to attend a lesson or do a piece of work. The
teacher is trained to model kindness and consideration, to observe the
child and follow her interests in suggesting work, to give careful,
individual lessons,to keep exacting records of what the child is learning and where his interests are leading him, and to refrain from interrupting when the child is
concentrating on an activity. Much of this can be created in the home.

AGE 6-18:

Q. What Montessori ideas can I use for school
age children?A. There are many varieties of homeschooling. Some people try to imitate the traditional school model buy following a strict schedule of school hours, using desks, etc. We fear that this turns a child off as much as going to school. It also separates "learning" from "living". This model is NOT Montessori homeschooling.In a Montessori class, aside from a small percentage of time dedicated to covering the required school subjects (2 hours a a week average) the child is introduced, one-to-one, to activities with which he or she will discover the excitement of learning in all areas, and how all areas are related to each other. The teacher teaches the child, just as in the 3-6 class, how to learn from the environment, but in this case the wider world. The student is grabbed by an interest and taught how to do research, contact specialists, invite expert guests to the class, go out into the immediate neighborhood and the larger community to interview and research. During the class hours his time is his own, uninterrupted by adult-imposed schedules and required attendance at group lessons or listening daily to someone talk. Homework is never required in the Montessori class, but children often carry their interests and research into the evenings and week-ends, and thus learning is combined with living.All of these wonderful elements of Montessori education are available to the homeschooled student.

Here are a few of many other ideas:

(1) The child is learning all of the time, from the environment and
from the adults in the environment. It is better to put
energy into enriching the environment and becoming good models than in teaching the child.

(2) Children learn what they love. Anything forced will probably be detested,
or forgotten. When the environment and the daily schedule is supportive we can trust to the amazing organizing function of the human brain, and the fact that humans naturally love work and learning.

(3) A child must know why he has to learn a required subject.

(4) State educational requirements can be reduced to one page per year
and the child needs help in learning to schedule time, develop enjoyable
methods, and become responsible for meeting deadlines. This work
usually takes no more than two or three hours a day.

(5) Follow the child. Aside from requirements, if the child's
choice are respected and facilitated she will learn at a level
that can amaze parents.

(6) The best gift you can give is TIME, uninterrupted concentration and respect for the child's choice and direction of interest. It is very tempting for parents and teachers who have been educated in the traditional way to start to control the child's time. Even the very best projects, field trips, family or school traditions, interests of the adult, can interrupt the success of this kind of education. The adult must learn to inspire, to give tools, and then to sink into the background and observe and enjoy the unexpected.

I attended a Montessori school from age 2.5-5, and again for one semester at age 7. For the rest of the time, at my choice, I was homeschooled. My education consisted of, for the most part, weekly visits to the library, visits with many people in the community, research of my interests of the moment, daily music practice, and exploration in nature. We did not have a TV and I did not use a computer except for touch-typing practice. I was allowed unlimited time whenever possible—days, nights, weekends—to explore and choose my own path. Experiences and study directions were offered by my parents, and periodically by other mentors and teachers, but my choices and passions about what to study were always encouraged.

My parents both worked full time (mother in her home office). Since my mother had taught children from age 2 through high school she helped me make weekly work/study plans and learn to manage my own time. Choices included grade level math and English suggestions, but were otherwise followed my own interests in areas such as music, literature, mythology, history, Latin, astronomy, archaeology, and the arts. I loved learning.

It was also my "job" to review and test Montessori-type books, toys, and other materials in our family educational supply business that my older sisters had begun and named after me when I was a baby (Michael Olaf).

Over the years I studied Suzuki piano, violin, and viola, and attended the local music academy at Humboldt State University for several hours every Saturday. Some years I attended a "homeschooling school" for one or two days a week. This provided sports, group activities, and a very interesting social life often found in homeschooling communities. My best friends were not people my own age, but my young students, my two older sisters Narda and Ursula and their friends, my parents and grandparents and their friends, younger and older musicians, people of all ages.

In what would have been my freshman year of high school my parents and two other families began the alternative school that is now called the Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy (NPA) with my piano teacher and our good friend Dr. Jean Bazemore. I attended for one year but preferred to take classes as the university. For the next three years I taught music at NPA and they kindly awarded me a second, an honorary, high school diploma. At age fifteen I had passed the CHSPE (California High
School Proficiency Exam), received a high school diploma and began to take classes at Humboldt State University (HSU). Looking
always for the best teachers, rather than specific subjects, I studied drama, math, physics, and music. During the summer of my fifteenth year I attended
the Calgary Conservatory (Mt. Royal College) in Alberta, Canada, became a certified Suzuki piano
teacher, and began teaching both adults and children.

For years I earned my own money teaching music
and playing in professional music groups, and learned to budget it for tithe,
savings, and food, clothing and other necessities. I have toured/traveled
in the USA, Cuba, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, circling the globe in the University of Virginia's Semester at Sea program (SAS). I attended Brown university which was a good match as there are no restrictions as to what one studies, and grades are optional so students can pick classes they really want instead of those that will insure a high grade-point average. I
graduated in three years from Brown, and returned to India to volunteer for an environmental
NGO in India (CSI). I studied law at the University of Oregon where
I worked as a tutor for first year students, an editor of the law review, and in the courtroom as part of the criminal defense in a pro bono law clinic. I graduated in May, 2008.

My homeschooling experience was based on the ideas that education should be enjoyable, cooperative instead of competitive; it should satisfy and encourage curiosity; it should be guided by the enjoyment of mastering subject matter, overcoming obstacles and finding one's own answers to questions rather than by praise, grades, or threats; it should teach practical and social skills such as helping others, balancing work and play, and being healthy.

Tests: I was not "educated for tests",
nor did I take any tests during my school years except a California assessment test at the end
of 6th grade, and exams in classes at
Humboldt State University. Instead I learned to enjoy learning, to work hard and
do my best. When it came time to apply for college I took practice ACT
and SAT tests, scoring very low, and then worked steadily for 2-3 months from books and computer reviews
to learn what was needed to raise my scores to a consistently high level.
As a result I was admitted to Brown University.

Computers: My parents read an article published by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) that recommended that children, in preparation for a future in sciences, physics,or engineering, interact in the real world and avoid computers. It went on to say that at MIT a student could learn all he or she needed to know on computers during the summer before, or the first semester, of college. It said that students who have worked on the farm, with heavy loads, building, etc., know much more about physics than those who have learned on computers. This definitely resonated with what our family believed. We have lost track of that article so if anyone finds it would you please contact me.

Beginning around age ten I used computers to learn correct keyboard skills in order to avoid the bad habits of index-finger typing that can be difficult to break; that was the only computer use. I use a computer daily now, for music composition, law, and other projects, all learned at university, law school, or by myself.

Giving:The spirit of "giving back" is big in our family from generations back, as it is in Montessori schools. I attempted to give 10% or my earned money and 10% of my time, to helping others. My parents helped me to find good ways to tithe: feeding the homeless, playing music at the local alzheimer's center, cooking Friday dinner for a housebound friend, and so on. My allowance was not a reward, or pay for work or chores, but was considered a share of the family income. Daily chores were considered a natural contribution to the family and community.

Over the years we have learned a lot by
homeschooling, from other homeschooling families, and from Montessori
teachers and parents. The Michael Olaf Montessori catalogues have been
constantly rewritten to reflect this learning, and they are considered
valuable overviews of Montessori philosophy and practice for use
in many situations, and a source of materials for homes and schools, for
children from birth through age 12 and beyond.

Some of these experiences, and lessons learned by our family have been recorded in the books below. I hope they are helpful.

Montessori books with the educational and homeschooling principles and practices of our family (author: susan)

The author of "A Montessori Homeschool Story" was interviewed by Ryuichi Nakamura of Fukuoka, Japan. The interview wa translated by Takako Fukatsu, AMI board member and translator for Montessori courses in Japan.